Tag Archives: rants

world observations

Politics in America: Desensitized yet Overly Sensitive

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For the past ten years of my life I’ve been paying attention to American politics and the response people have to the people in positions of power. It started when my mentor at my college, Senator Maggie Glover, took me under her wing and started to guide to academic greatness. Through her she ensured that as many of her students as possible had the chance to meet Senator Barack Obama as he was touring and gathering support for his first election. It was awesome to meet someone who made history. At the same time he turned this nation on it’s head in disbelief. From that point on I really started to take note of peoples behaviors and words.

After Obama’s election I had a few teachers, at an HBCU, Not show up to work for a few days. These teachers advocated for the opposition. I was young, but I was never naive enough to think that it was just because they were republican born and bred. They were opposed to an African American being in the greatest seat of power in this nation. Since they needed a job, they danced around how they spoke about him, eventually choosing to not speak about him at all. When you locked eyes with him though you could still see the rage and disgust though.

Fast forward to 2018 and the world has literally gone to shit as some would say. This is because people have become Desensitized yet overly sensitive about civil, moral, and political subject matter. It seems the art of debate has been lost, and the act of having screaming matches has taken over.

Desensitization 

The Desensitization has come about in my opinion due to the explosion of social media. Now everyone and their mother can rant and rave about what they don’t like and find thousands of followers who believe the same. Social media has done wonders for giving the masses a voice and a platform to SCREAM OUT LOUD about how they feel. Now we have entire Facebook and Twitter pages dedicated to opinions, whether they be laced with facts or not.

Now this platform has been turned volatile at this point, and it gets worse because every single day an act of violence, murder, hate crime, racism, prejudice, etc gets shared on there multiple times. After seeing that much pain, suffering, and just immoral behavior constantly the masses get desensitized to it. It is almost expected now every time one logs into their social media accounts.

That is a little broad so lets dig a bit deeper. Now the members of a race/ethnicity/sexual preference will be constantly shown negative acts towards them and subconscious accept that this is their world. On the other side of that people see that happen all the time and accept that it is happening to them constantly so it must be their fault, since they aren’t like me. Surely, they have done something to deserve this. Now this breeds a culture of people who just don’t care when injustice happens. We just keep on scrolling. (I don’t mean all people are like this, but we are starting to see more and more people who are.) 

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Overly Sensitive 

This is a category of people we all know too well. Its the people who instantly take whatever you post about and tell you that your are wrong for posting it or hurting their feelings for it. Every act the world does is an act against them. Have you noticed that they only feel this way if their beliefs are infringed upon though? They become charged if what they view as right is spoken ill of.  Now lets take into account what I said earlier about being desensitized to certain things they see, and it gives you the full scope of the people we have to deal with on the regular.

These people won’t bat an eye at something that doesn’t directly pertain to them or mock the values that they hold dear. The moment you say anything to them, or just post something on social media that goes against what they believe they will cry out as a victim and retaliate. In recent times, we all can agree that most of these fires are started when peoples political, racial, or civil rights views are in question. People fight for their political parties all the time. We all it bickering, they call it congress. At the same time people will always stand and fight for Racial equality, but the other side of the coin is people fighting for racial injustice. You’re naive if you don’t see that.

Its just taxing as hell to deal with in our daily lives. On a personal level its hard to walk around with all my views and passions and have to keep them bottled up because I have to be strong, or I don’t want the atmosphere around me to be charged. I have to keep my mouth shut so I’m not stereotyped as the Angry Black Man, or the Woke Negro. I don’t claim to be either, I’m just aware of the world around me. After a while I will break and say something openly about how I feel on a situation. Once I do it will be backed with facts and said in a none aggressive way, but even that is seen as an attack and a battle will erupt. That is the part that kills me, that’s why I’m writing this now. Politics and other things have turned Americans into Desensitized yet overly sensitive beings of emotions. Those emotions are usually rage served up with a sizable dose of judgment.

I honestly don’t know if anything can be done for us as a nation. We’re encouraged to have opinions, but apparently it better be the “Right” opinion or you’ll be condemned for it. I have to walk around devoid of most emotions, play the part of the smile with sarcasm just to cope with the world. With the way that the world is set up if I do much more than that I’m frowned upon and told that I’m a problem. But am I really? Or is what I have to say just different from what you believe, so you’re lashing out at me? Think on that…

-Poetic Ice

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world observations

Things Vet Techs volume 13

I’ve reached lucky number 13 of the Things Vet Techs Don’t Like series!!! Thanks for sticking around thus far. You guys/gals are the real MVPs.

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The first point I’d like to make is comical. It’s funny That this even happened in real life, but let’s get to it.

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1. The Preganancy Test Came Back Negative.
Pregnancy is a thing that can be detected easily and early in humans thanks to pregancy tests. They can be bought at almost all convenience stores and even the Dollar Tree. They relay results in a matter of seconds, to and for humans. They can be of aid in life planning, to humans. Sadly, they don’t work on canines and felines… no, nope, sorry, no can do…
W. T. F.
When a client comes in due to their pet having pregancy complications the staff gets into a rush to save the life of your pet and its offspring. We gather a history and go over the price of radiography and possible surgery if it comes to that. All standard procedure, but we get understandably thrown off by you telling us that your home pregancy test came up negative for your pet so you didn’t think this was a possibility. I think I cried laughing when I heard about this. I can’t even with sentient humanity sometimes..

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2. In dog years?
Okay I’d like to think normal sane people with common sense read my blog. Well as sane as us veterinary professionals get anyway. With that said I’m going to ask you a question that I want you to answer without hesitation.

How old is your dog?
See, not complicated right. You answered it mentally without a second thought right. You, like most of the world said “blank” years old. Well we as vet tech’s don’t like when clients come in and retort to the question with, “In dog years?”. (Insert angry face here, preferably one with fangs and fire)
We didn’t ask for that, nor would we ever. It only gets worse when someone gets mentally constipated and can’t calculate it so they get anxious as if now they have signed their dogs death certificate. “I don’t know, I’ve never done The math… wait, hold on I’ll tell you… it’s…. I don’t know” Is what happens next. Its okay that You don’t know, we don’t need it, but don’t bog us down with that As we gather info on your pet. “In dog years” depends on a dog’s breed/size and living situation anyway. Its age determines the protocols we use on it, The actual approximation/conversion isn’t necessary, but it is fun to know.

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3. Self Entitled Pricks
The title says it all, and any vet tech, office manager, and veterinarian can understand it without elaboration. But since I have “civilians” that read this I’ll go into it. Veterinary professionals work in this business knowing that the will encounter a person/family/organization that thinks the work you do should be free or discounted. While you are at it throw in some free prescriptions and a bag of food as well.
I don’t know what it is that compels people into thinking that veterinary medicine is free volunteer work instead of a fully functioning business.

Its a group of professionals providing a service, and that service does come with a fee. The fee is due at the time the services are rendered. Its comparable to taking your care to a mechanic. They expect payment after the labor. They love what they do, just like we do. The difference is they don’t have to take a bullet financially when entitled prices come in. We often have to eat costs, and or give away services for free because of people thinking they deserve it, or worse when they are stolen. I say stolen as in a surgery being done, and a person refusing to pay even though they agreed to, even signed an estimate stating they would. We can’t legally hold your pet until you pay, so that means we have to eat that cost. Its irritating, hell it’s maddening to go through. Enough of that and a owner/office manager has to let staff go. Of it continues a business has to shut down. No one wants that, veterinary professionals need jobs too.

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4. Abandoned Pets
The quickest way to earn the rage and wrath of a vet tech is to abandon your pet. Just the mere mention of such an act earns you their contempt and they never forget it. The fact that you don’t even have the decency to re-home them or take them to a shelter or rescue group is sickening. What if you were left out in the street forced to fend for yourself in a world you don’t understand? No that’s not good enough, let me put it in perspective for you. You abandoning your pet in the streets is like you being ripped from you home and dropped into another country that doesn’t speak your native language with no map, GPS, currency, and supplies to live. Where you will either be killed or just await hour painful death of starvation and parasites. That is basically what one does when they are abandoning a pet. So to hell with you if you do it. The two pups pictured above were abandoned where I work on a freezing winter morning. At least that human chose to leave them at a veterinary clinic, but still what the hell? They were barely off their mothers milk, and honestly probably had another week to go. They are two loving dogs that crave attention and love and fear being alone. Probably because they were ripped from their mom too early… anyway the hospital took them in, gave them someplace warm to live and food. As you all who read my blog know I lost my little Diva recently and my wife and I were looking for another dog. So, these two are my new dogs. We love them to death, and I get enraged every time I think of them being thrown out onto the streets….

That’s volume 13 for ya, hope you like it and can identify. Share it with your friends and family. Hope you have a happy holiday! Now here’s a funny pic just cause.

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-Poetic Ice

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world observations

Things Vet Techs Don’t Like Vol. 6

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It’s the Christmas season guys and gals, so happy holidays first and foremost. Now that the holiday cheer is out of the way, let’s address the apparent month long psychosis that has affected the people in our current society. No I’m not about to go on a political/cultural/racial rant. I’ll stay grounded in the Veterinary world. A world full of mixed nuts.

1.  THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL YOU ARE MUZZLING MY DOG, AND CHOKING HIM TO DEATH!!!!

Okay, do you guys see the picture above. Take a long look at it. Have that image internalized yet? That is what a vet tech sees when there is an extremely aggressive dog in the examination room that doesn’t want to be there.  I call it the death lunge, either you move out of the way or it’s game over. As veterinary professionals we understand the aggressive pet. It’s probably fear aggression. That’s fine. we can take things slow and if necessary a muzzle will need to be used. In extreme cases chemical restraint becomes an option. It’s for the protection of everyone in the room so we can all go home happy and in one piece. When we pull out muzzles because Jack the Ripper has decided to rend our flesh from bone, don’t go ape shit crazy on us because of your dog’s behavior. Either your dog is untrained or has fear issues. either way it wants to kill and we want to live. Yelling at us saying that we are choking or suffocating your dog is just fucking stupid. I’m sorry but you took me there. It’s fucking dumb. Proper restraint does not choke your dog, and a muzzle doesn’t suffocate. DOGS BREATH THROUGH THEIR NOSES LIKE WE DO!!!!! Get the heck outta here with that foolishness! This one notion alone drives Techs insane!

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2. Hey Doc, I Need A Refill, I Know I Said I Didn’t Yesterday, But I Do Today. Right Now Actually. No I’m out completely…. for real…..

So, I know I went to public school. It may not have been ivy league status, but my preschool teacher taught me this magical thing called counting. It was a skill that I have used EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. Apparently this skill is a lost art for many of the clients of veterinary clinics. When your pet is on chronic medication you are in the vet office often for monitoring and or refills. Well if you come for a routine monitoring visit and the Vet Tech and DOCTOR ask you do you need a refill of said medication, we are honestly asking you this. This is no trick or game we are trying to play. We figure you know the inventory of medications in your home and know when you need more. I guess we are wrong to think this. If you say that “I have plenty of medication, I don’t need anymore right now doctor” we believe this fact. We’re not the ones medicating your pet you are. Why should we not believe you. So when you call us less than 24 hours later and say you need a refill of said medication and you need it ASAP because if Fluffy doesn’t get it they break out in hives and become a lycanthrope by midnight, we become confused and pissed off. YOU KNEW YOU NEEDED MEDICATION YESTERDAY!!! If you’re in the building we can fill the script, if you call it in most likely there is a policy in place such as give the doctor 24 hours to fill it because the doctor has actual work to do such as see patients, save lives, run a damn hospital, etc. Now you’re irate on the phone and complaining about service when we tried to service your ass yesterday! Well you wait on your damn medication that we will fill, and pray your werewolf doesn’t take too many lives in the process.

(Lycanthrope=Werewolf for people who don’t want to use Google lol)

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3. Secret Keepers

These are the clients who act like they have something to hide when they make there appointment. They schedule Red for vaccines and get off the phone with a maniacal laugh to themselves. They start rubbing their hands together and in a deep menacing voice proclaim, “I’ll also bring fluffy and Sam along for annuals, and anal glands muahahahahahahahaha!” Or At least that’s what I imagine. All we as veterinary professionals ask is that when you make an appointment, make it for all that you require. It doesn’t hurt our feelings to work. It pisses us off when you add multiple things at the last friggin minute. If you show up for a dental cleaning, don’t add a billion mini mass removals that you are only getting for aesthetic purposes! You know not the wrath of a vet professional scorned, but that is the quickest way to earn it.

Now that’s all, enjoy your holiday, go have fun, and for the love of all that is only keep your pets out of the emergency clinic!

Happy holidays

Poetic ice

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world observations

Showdown at Shoney’s

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Shoney’s is a great restaurant that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to eat at. Every one that I’ve been to has had a pleasant staff that are eager to serve you. But today one waitress today probably wanted to quit. Through the constant volatile bickering from an older woman who was the definition of crotchety, I learned her name was Brenda.

Today this woman who made it her mission to annoy and/or annihilate her server apparently ordered a sweet tea before My wife and I arrived. The server brought a diet coke to the table by mistake. This mistake was not life changing and only would only take seconds to correct once the server is notified.

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Yea I know that's McDonald's tea. You get the idea

They do look similar in a glass full of ice. Its an easy mistake to make when you have an entire section of people to serve. But this woman was not going to forgive poor Brenda. She instantly went on a tirade about how she didn’t want the drink and how she wanted tea. “I wanted tea, is that hard to ask? Bring me some tea. What are they doing back there? Fighting to see who is going to make the tea?” There was nothing sweet about her. The server brought her a Tea after her barrage of insults and continued to work her section.

At this point the queen of crotchety found a woman in her section and chose to unload all her concerns of the world and Shoney’s future. She went from how much she didn’t like her server to her current political views. This poor woman was held hostage, with pancakes. Every time Brenda returned she would use a sweet and snarky voice to ask “Are you okay?” To which her server would reply yes ma’am I’m fine. How are you? The older lady would laugh, but once Brenda left she would say to her hostage, “I don’t think this is the life for her. She may be on drugs.”

She went on to disturb the other servers in attempt to get her Brenda’s last name and question whether or not they have noted drug usage. She stated that she wasn’t trying to be mean, she was just trying to save Shoney’s. She continued by saying that Her whole say was ruined by this one mistake. She said she loved Shoney’s and only wanted to help out. Once she was done berating her and eating she flagged down another server and hounded her to dispose of the Diet Coke she left on the table. She said she didn’t want that girl to try and give it to someone else.

Really? Who would take the drink from one table and give it to the next patron who wants a drink? This lady full on believed that Brenda would serve the drink to another. She left and found the General Manager. And told het about her day and Brenda’s apparent drug use. He walked her out after she paid and came back in saying “I have no clue what she was talking about. She is crazy.” my wife and the other servers all laughed because she was crazy. Why would you berate someone for about 30 minutes and say she’s on drugs just because she gave you the wrong drink by accident? Poor Brenda still walked around with her head hung low. That woman could have very well ruined her day. For what? Sweet tea? My wife and I felt so bad for Brenda, and at a lose for the reason behind the elderly lady’s rant.

How would you feel if you were Brenda? Could you put up with her abuse with a smile like she did? I don’t think I could.

That’s just my two cents….

Poetic Ice

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